Robert Walter Dews (March 23, 1939 – December 26, 2015) was an American

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

in minor league baseball and a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. He threw and batted right-handed and was listed as tall and . Born in the small town of

Clinton, Iowa Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 24,469 as of 2020. Clinton, along with DeWitt (also located in Clinton County), was named in honor of the sixth governor of New York, DeWitt Cl ...

, Bobby Dews moved to rural

Edison, Georgia Edison is a city in Calhoun County, Georgia, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 1,230. The Edison Commercial Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. History The Georgia General Assembly inco ...

, to live with his grandparents at an early age and graduated from Edison High School (now Calhoun County High School). Dews played baseball and basketball for the

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Rambl ...

before being signed by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. He then followed in the footsteps of his stepmother and other family members by obtaining his associate degree in 1963 from

Andrew College Andrew College is a private liberal arts college in Cuthbert, Georgia. It is associated with The United Methodist Church and is the ninth-oldest college in Georgia. Andrew is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Comm ...

Cuthbert, Georgia Cuthbert is a city in, and the county seat of, Randolph County, Georgia, United States. The population was 3,520 in 2019. History Cuthbert was founded by European Americans in 1831 as seat of the newly formed Randolph County, after Indian Remov ...

, and later graduated with a bachelor's degree from

West Georgia College The University of West Georgia is a public university in Carrollton, Georgia. The university offers a satellite campus in Newnan, Georgia, select classes at its Douglasville Center, and off-campus Museum Studies classes at the Atlanta History Ce ...

. Dews played and managed in the Cardinals'

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

before joining the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

organization in . The season marked Dews' 35th consecutive season with the Braves, including 14 years spent as an

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

coach. He managed at multiple minor league levels, while serving as field coordinator of instruction in its farm system. His career as an Atlanta coach occurred during three different terms (1979–81; 1985; 1997–2006). After the season, at age 67, he retired as the Braves' bullpen coach to become a roving coach. In addition, he worked with the Braves at home games and for the minor league teams when the major league club was on the road. In an article published in the Atlanta magazine printed in March 2003 (Vol. 42, No. 12, Page 60), Dews references his writings from as far back as 35 years prior. Of particular note is his book ''Legends Demons and Dreams'', originally released in hardcover by Longstreet Press in 2005 and published in paperback in 2007 by Literati Press. In 2008, Dews became a writer-in-residence at

, where he attended college for a short time. While a writer-in-residence at Andrew, Dews completed and published a second collection of stories entitled ''An Illusion of Victory'', which were released by CreateSpace in 2009. Dews died on December 26, 2015, in

Albany, Georgia Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the seat of Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in southwest Georgia, it is the principal city of the Albany, Georgia ...

at the age of 76.Obituary
''Albany Herald''. Retrieved on December 27, 2015. The Braves wore a patch in his memory for the 2016 season, a white rectangle with a black outline and his nickname "Dewsy" in black, on the right sleeve.

Sources

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dews, Bobby 1939 births 2015 deaths 20th-century American writers 21st-century American writers 20th-century American male writers American men's basketball players Arkansas Travelers players Atlanta Braves coaches Baseball players from Iowa Billings Mustangs players Daytona Beach Islanders players Durham Bulls managers Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets baseball players Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball players Jacksonville Suns players Lancaster Red Roses players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches People from Calhoun County, Georgia People from Clinton, Iowa People from Cuthbert, Georgia Portsmouth-Norfolk Tides players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Winnipeg Goldeyes players Writers from Georgia (U.S. state)